2007 1,000 km of Spa

[togos452]

August 19

LE MANS SERIES 2007

a look back to 2006 http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...em.php&rid=103

a look back to the 1970 1,000 km of Spa

YouTube - 1970 Spa 1000km

Pedro Rodriguez in the # 25 917 going two-wide into Eau Rouge with Jo Siffert in the # 24 917 on the first lap.

http://www.porsche917.com.ar/ZSpa70_06EauRouge.JPG

Racing for Holland won't be at Spa with their Dome S101.5 Judd.

Jan Lammers - official website [Racing For Holland]

[orne]

Nice video

About the race, Peugeot are clear favorites if it doesn't rain, if it rains then things can get unpredictable. LMP2 will probably be decided by reliability. GT1 should be interesting with Aston Martin vs Corvette vs Saleen and GT2 with the Porsche vs Ferrari duel...

[Zytek_Fan]

Peugeot will obviously take the win in LMP1. LMP2 could be any of the teams that are on pace. GT1 I expect Corvette or Saleen. GT2 is going to be Porsche.

[togos452]

Which car number do you pick for the GT2 win?

Not one of the 11 LMP2 cars failed to finish the 1,000 km of Nürburgring.

Jetalliance Racing to now join GT1 at Spa with # 65 DBR9

drivers Karl Wendlinger, Thomas Grüber and Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer

Jetalliance Racing :: Drivers

(and another team's 911 GT2-R for the GT1 class)

The-Paddock.net - GT1 Class to Feature New Teams at Spa

[Zytek_Fan]

IMSA Performance MATMUT. Virgo Motorsport might put up a big fight though.

[togos452]

endurance-info is reporting that Russian driver Vitaly Petrov will race the factory # 13 Courage LC70 AER in LMP1 at Spa. He races in in the GP2 series with the Campos team.

.::Campos GrandPrix::.

The Official Website of the GP2 Series

He had raced the # 24 Courage LC75 AER in the LMP2 class for the Noel Del Bello team in the 1,000 km of Valencia and the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year.

[togos452]

Kurt Mollekens has joined the # 61 Racing Box Saleen S7R for Spa.

FIA GT Championship - Driver Biography : Kurt Mollekens

RacingBox.it | Official Web Site

Robert Collard has joined the GT1-spec Porsche for Spa. They will have Dunlop tires.

[Zytek_Fan]

Felbermayr-Proton is entering 4 Porsche 997 GT3 RSR's

[togos452]

The entry list looks like they have three 911s and one is a 996 model. All of Felbermayr-Proton 911s have Pirelli tires.

Proton Competition - Home

Spa preview

The-Paddock.net - Aug. 17-19: Le Mans Series, VLN & Super GT

A previous GT1-spec Porsche 911 Turbo:

A:Level Engineering's car

http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/2...Turbo-GT1.html

No Porsche in GT1 at Spa

Wolfgang Kaufmann will now race in the Lavaggi LS1 Ford.

On the original entry cunning noted JMT Porsche 996 turbo will not begin the 1000km after current conditions with von Spa Francorchamps. The vehicle, which with psi engine haven was developed, should begin at the 24h hours of Spa. After different sources the car did not become in time finished. Wolfgang buyer, mentioned by the team on the Porsche, will start now on the Lavaggi LS1.

helvetica,sans-serif,The LMP1 prototype designed by the Italian was presented to 2006 in the context of the 1000km Nürburgring of the public. Since then the ambitious crew engages itself around Giovanni Lavaggi in the Le Mans Series and develops the LMP1 further continuously

Project LeMans - GT- und Sportwagen NEWS

[togos452]

Luc Alphand Adventures has kept their livery from the Total 24 Hours of Spa from late July.

Translated version of http://endurance-info.com/article.php?sid=4041

Interview with the GT1 team

Translated version of http://endurance-info.com/article.php?sid=4042

Luc Alphand - 24 hours Le mans race - 2007 Le Mans - Le Mans Series - Valeo Motor Sports

[togos452]

Revised factory Radical SR9 AER

Radicals ready for new season at Dubai Autodrome

Team Bruichladdich Radical - Le Mans Team - SR9 Home

Planetlemans.com - The Latest Endurance, Sportscar and GT Racing News! - Team Bruichladdich Radical progress continues

Translated version of http://endurance-info.com/article.php?sid=4047

Nürburgring gp circuit

http://www.endurance-info.com/2007_L...urburgring.jpg

Spa-Francorchamps

http://www.endurance-info.com/2007_L...ich_Spa_01.jpg

Gulf Motorsports qualifying report

Planetlemans.com - The Latest Endurance, Sportscar and GT Racing News! - Gulf Spa qualifying report

Gulf Racing Enthusiasts : Gulf Oil Limited

video of Zytek 07S/2 on homepage

Gulf Oil International

The # 50 and # 51 Aston Martin DBR9s from Larbre Competition have the new side mirrors from the Prodrive team.

LARBRE COMPETITION

http://www.endurance-info.com/2007_L...Retro_DBR9.jpg

Video

YouTube - LeMans Series 1000km Spa

[togos452]

Lots of pictures

The-Paddock.net - Gallery 1

[Zytek_Fan]

The Peugeots 4 seconds faster in qualy...that's absurd.

Here's something from Mulsannescorner.com. Worth a read.

Borrowing from dailysportscar.com, we note with cynicism that Peugeot's technical director makes the claim that the gasoline powered cars actually have an advantage within the regulations.

Here's the full quote:

"The diesels are heavier, have much more of their weight to the back of the car, have different cooling needs and systems and all of this means making some major compromises. The conventional petrol powered cars are capable of much better performance as the regulations currently stand."

Heavier? LMP1 regulations state all cars must weigh 925 kgs., whether powered by gasoline or diesel. I'll agree there's a weight distribution discrepancy and cooling differences. But these "compromises" are more than made up for by the torque and power advantage. Frankly if I were a gas powered competitor I'd be begging for the diesel's "problems".

I'll end by saying that the ACO put the diesel regulations out there and Peugeot and Audi built cars to those rules having the option to do either. They shrewdly went diesel knowing full well that the balance of advantage/disadvantage was weighted in their favor. Audi and Peugeot certainly didn't make their decision hoping to be the underdog. To make asinine comments like the one above really smells of pandering, especially as we look at the times from the Nurburgring Le Mans Endurance Series event and the Peugeot 908 has 3.2 seconds in hand over the 3rd placed gas powered Lola B07/17 of Charouz Racing. I guess that's not enough? This is more saber rattling, Audi got their way in the American Le Mans Series and now Peugeot is playing politics with the ACO, hoping to cut them off at the pass of the proposed 2008 regulations changes that will (hopefully--we thought the ACO would have been mature enough to do that for this year) address the extraordinary performance offset. When you're rich you can't be rich enough I guess.

We'll end with Hugh Chamberlain, again from dailysportscar.com, interviewed at this weekend's Le Mans event at Nurburgring:

"It keeps on happening – yet here there are more LMP1s than ever before, but they’ll disappear if they don’t do something about the diesels. You wouldn’t have a race here without the privateers."

For years the sanctioning bodies have ignored the privateers yet it is on their efforts alone that sportscar racing has been sustained. Look at the perseverance of Dyson, Courage, Pescarolo, etc. Though after a while you have to sort of ask yourself why they are still here? They can't be solely responsible for the sport forever, yet the sanctioning bodies take them for granted.

[Ferrer]

Why not ban all petrol cars and just race tractors eh...?

[togos452]

the 908 and R10 sound incredibly boring